Before setting up your kit you will need to consider whether you are left-handed or right-handed. If you are right-handed,

set it up like the one in the picture. If you are left-handed then set your kit up the other way round and reverse the stickings of the tab (L/R). Oh yeah, read about tab further down the page for more on this.

Alright then, before the fun actually begins, you will have to learn internet drum tab so you can read the exercises in the next couple of pages. Please note, this is not the traditional drum tab you'd find in physical books. We would if we could, but we can't, so... here's an example:

Across this way is time. As you can see, there are sixteen of these "-" going across. Each one is a sixteenth note. This helps divide the music and understand the music better. It is also helpful for when you play sixteenth note drum beats on the Hi-Hat.

This may not be clear, but you will know what I mean in a bit. If you read this drum tab, you would be hitting the bass drum on counts one and three, the snare on counts two and four, the hi-hat on counts one, two, three, and four.

If you haven't worked it out already, the x's and o's are when you hit the drum, hi-hat or cymbal depending on the line the x or o are on. o's are used for drums and hi-hat - but on a hi-hat it means an open hi-hat hit (I'll explain later). a x on the hi-hat is a closed hi-hat hit. If there is an 'L' or 'R' instead of an 'o' or 'x', you must hit the corresponding instrument with the matching hand (these are called 'stickings'). 'Bars' end with a |.

You might think we're going a bit too in-depth here, but we're not, seriously. You will need to think about your drum sticks just like a guitarist needs to choose the right picks (plectrums). There are lots of different sizes of sticks, different lengths, thicknesses. Drum sticks come in two varieties: Nylon tips and wooden tips. This is fairly self-explanatory. I once favoured nylon tipped sticks but the nylon tips kept falling off (probably my technique was dodgy at the time), so I now prefer wooden tipped sticks. You will need to experiment with drum sticks to see which ones are the right size for you - you need to think about comfort and practicality, i.e. can you reach everything easily? If drumsticks are too heavy and large they will be uncomfortable and clumsy, and if the sticks are too light you will have to work harder for rebound of the drum heads, which is not good for your wrists. I once went in a music shop and they had an electric kit there, set up for people to try out. I was there buying sticks, so naturally I went and had a go, to test out the sticks... that was great.

However, you will rarely get to do something like that, so I would recommend buying some cheap sticks of different sizes to test them out, then buy some decent quality sticks of your favourite size. The size is normally etched into the base of the drum stick.